ABSTRACT
For centuries Hami was the major hub of East-West commu nication. All caravans and envoys traveling along the North ern Silk Road from the West to the Chinese capital were obliged to pass through Hami. Here the two branches of the Northern Road, which skirted the southern and northern foothills of the Tian Shan Mountains, converged before pass ing into China. As an outpost of the Chinese Empire, lodged between two worlds, it was of considerable strategic import ance. Not surprisingly, its history is that of a turbulent frontier city racked by frequent warfare.
